Mada’s Ramadan TV tips: What to watch and what to drop
A week of Ramadan has come and gone and we’re still on our couches with bloated post-iftar tummies binging on all Ramadan TV has to offer: series and the ads in between (or rather, the ads and the series in between). There’s already controversy over the content — with banned ads and an agreement that dessert has yet again gone overboard this year (combining konafa and eish al-saraya — why?).
Mada has come together as a serious team to reflect on the first week’s worth of series. The list below is in no way comprehensive. It’s simply a write up of what our culture and politics teams have been watching and whether we’d recommend anything to a wider audience.
Grand Hotel
CBC, CBC Drama, ART Hekayat
This elusive crime drama takes place in 1950 in Aswan, where Aly (Amr Youssef) is in disguise as a waiter at the bourgeois Grand Hotel trying to figure out what happened to his sister, who worked there as a housekeeper. We know she was killed in the first episode, but we don’t know why. We follow Aly’s quest along with the interpersonal stories between the staff and chichi clients, where there is always a lie to be told and a truth to uncover.
"Grand Hotel’s" location, costumes and set tap into the nostalgia element that has proved a guarantee for winning over audiences — but that’s not all it has going for it. With young talents such as Ahmed Dawood, Mohamed Mamdouh, Amina Khalil and Dina al-Sherbiny joined by more seasoned actors Sawsan Badr and Ragaa al-Geddawy, along with the return of Anoushka and Sherene, the cast skillfully bring to life a script by romcom expert Tamer al-Habib. "Grand Hotel" is directed by Mohamed Shaker Khodeir, the man behind last year’s period piece "Tareeqy," which starred singer Sherene and was also written by Habib.
Do we recommend it for the rest of Ramadan?
Yes. The mystery unfolds gracefully with each episode, giving you a new clue while leaving you wanting more. It’s well made, with attention to detail plus interesting cast and plot.
Maamoun wa Shorokah (Maamoun and his Partners)
MBC, MBC Masr
A five-minute sequence of outdoor and indoor shots of Garden City opens this show, immediately giving us the impression that the plot won’t be enough to fill 30 episodes. "Maamoun wa Shorokah" stars Adel Imam as Maamoun, a stingy unemployed man living in a large villa with his wife (Lebleba), a tax worker who feels she wasted her life on this marriage. Their friends Mostafa Fahmy and Sherene live in a villa in the suburbs and are generous to them and others. This relatively calm foundation is shaken when Maamoun gets an offer on the villa that would make him a millionaire.
The show, directed by Imam’s son Ramy Imam, offers nothing new. Anyone familiar with Imam’s recent work, whether in cinema or television, will feel like they’ve seen this type of misogynist humor plenty of times before.
Do we recommend it for the rest of Ramadan?
No. There are many more exciting shows this year to follow.
Nelly wa Sherihan
Al-Hayat, Dubai One Arabic
While its title evokes memories of the iconic Ramadan fawazeer (quiz show) stars, this comedy is not connected to the Nelly and Sherihan, who graced our screens in the 1980s and 1990s.
Starring sisters Donia and Amy Samir Ghanem, Nelly and Sherihan tells the story of two long-lost cousins who grew up with contrasting social backgrounds, but are accidentally reunited after one hits the other with her car.
The pair is forced to reconnect, especially after Nelly’s wealthy father (Bayoumi Fouad), falls for and marries Sherihan’s aunt (Khattab). Directed by Ahmed al-Guindy, the show has a plot that doesn’t exactly offer anything original, but the Ghanem sisters’ portrayal of their characters and delivery make for an entertaining and humorous show.
Do we recommend it for the rest of Ramadan?
Yes. Nelly and Sherihan offers a funny and entertaining 45 minutes after iftar before you delve into the murder mysteries and family dramas on other channels.
Foq Mastawa al-Shobohat (Beyond Reproach)
CBC, CBC 2, CBC Drama, Al-Hayat 2, Al-Mehwar, ONtv Plus, Sada al-Balad
Veteran film star Yousra plays a politician running for Parliament whose two-sided personality is clear from the start: The first episode ends with her committing a brutal murder, and a few scenes later, she’s giving a moving speech about confronting the negative within so that we are able to forgive ourselves and one another. Meanwhile, she has had her sister hospitalized at a mental asylum and won’t tell their mother where she is, and when her mother is kidnapped and held for ransom, she isn’t sure whether to cough up the money.
Directed by Hany Khalifa (Sleepless Nights, Bitter Sugar) and co-starring Sherene Reda, the show is set in a leafy compound in Cairo’s Fifth Settlement. Initially, the residents appear perturbed by the murder on their doorstep, but life carries on as usual. We follow several of Yousra’s neighbors, more than one of whom is engaged in an extramarital affair.
Do we recommend it for the rest of Ramadan?
Yes, as long as you don’t mind a fair bit of drama and door-slamming by secondary characters that doesn’t necessarily go anywhere.
Al-Khanka (The Psychiatric Clinic)
Al-Nahar, Al-Nahar 2, Al-Nahar Drama
Not available on YouTube
We are almost a quarter of the way through the show, and have yet to encounter the institution of the show’s name. Directed by Mohamed Gomaa with a script by Mahmoud Desoky, "Al-Khanka" tells the story of a teacher facing sexual harassment from one of her students. The first several episodes set the scene for a showdown that we know is coming between the main character and one of her students.
Played by Ghada Abdelrazek, teacher Amira is defiant in the face of social criticism and stands up for herself — she fights back when harassed, and refuses to stop riding a motorbike to the posh international school where she works. She’s in conflict with society, authority and her family as her brother insists on giving her a third of the inheritance in accordance with Islamic law, instead of the half she demands. On the other side, we get a sense of Assem, the student who will become pivotal in the story. His father is one of the most powerful businessmen in the country, married to a much younger trophy wife who spoils Assem. At their annual party, the businessman arranges with his lawyer to have cameras set up in the bathrooms so he can get footage of other powerful figures snorting cocaine.
Do we recommend it for the rest of Ramadan?
Maybe — it could be interesting to see how the showdown between Amira (and her doting lawyer) and one of the most wealthy men in the country plays out. But the aesthetics, characterized by heavy use of dramatic and sinister music, might get in the way.
Afrah al-Qoba (Wedding Song)
Al-Nahar, Al-Nahar Drama, MBC Drama, OSN
The events of the mysterious tale unfold shortly after Egypt’s 1967 defeat in the Six-Day War, when Tahia Abdo (Mona Zaki) joins a famed theater troupe as an extra and starts a love story with her colleague Tarek (Eyad Nassar).
Lively and spirited, Tahia quickly climbs the ladder of fame, yet her relationship is doomed to failure. She gets to replace the female lead for a night and a spark ignites between her and the group's prompter, Abbas (Mohamed al-Sharnouby), who’s 10 years younger than her.
Tahia and Abbas marry against the will of everyone around them, yet the happy marriage ends when Abbas unexplainably kills Tahia and their newborn son in cold blood, and then writes a play about the incident titled "Afrah al-Qoba."
Do we recommend it for the rest of Ramadan?
Yes. There are still many clues missing — and the unsolved murder, the flashbacks and the shifts between theater and real life keep the drama interesting and fresh.
Soqoot Horr (Free Fall)
CBC, CBC 2, Al-Hayat, Al-Mehwar, ONtv, ONtv Plus, Sada al-Balad
There are some high expectations around "Soqoot Horr," which is co-scripted by Wael Hamdy and Mariam Naoum. Naoum wrote last year’s "Taht al-Saytara" (Under Control) and "Sign-al-Nisa" (Women’s Prison) the year before, both considered groundbreaking in their treatment of social issues. "Soqoot Horr" also features a number of the cast from "Taht al-Saytara": Nelly Karim is Malak, a woman placed in a psychiatric clinic after being accused of killing her husband and sister, Ahmed Wafik is Selim, the brother-in-law, and Mohamed Farrag is billed as a character who has yet to appear.
The series starts with police arriving at the crime scene, Malak’s husband and sister dead, and Malak sitting on the floor in a state of shock, weapon in hand. She is hospitalized, her son is shielded from knowing the truth and Selim, her brother-in-law, steps in to support them all.
Compared to other Ramadan series, the pace is relatively slow, but it doesn’t drag.
Do we recommend it for the rest of Ramadan?
Yes. It will be interesting to see whether what will unfold is an exploration of the mental state that led Malak to kill her husband and sister, or the unraveling of a plot by Selim to use her mental instability to frame her. But you’ll have to grit your teeth during some Abbasseya Hospital scenes where the patients appear as caricatures.
Al-Moghany (The Singer)
Al-Hayah
If you’re still on the fence about whether to become a “Mohamed Mounir atheist” or not, watching "Al-Moghany" will make you forget everything you once believed.
Six episodes in, and nothing has become clear about the pop star. Instead, in what seems like present time, we watch Mounir playing out his day-to-day life. A typical sequence consists of seaside gigs, walking through temples and posing against ruins, pulled together by musical pontifications about Egypt, the “shaab” and “the cheeks of an apple.”
No doubt many people want to see where Mounir started, to watch his choices in producers and albums across decades of Egyptian pop music. But the flashbacks are fleeting and weirdly self-orientalist, and it’s a bit like watching a state-sponsored National Geographic program about Upper Egypt hosted by Mohamed Mounir.
It’s been said that the musician is releasing new tracks through the show.
Do we recommend it for the rest of Ramadan?
We’re not sure. If you’re into music documentation and stories, then there may be some bits of insight to gather about Mounir’s life. But until now, the only thing that can be gathered from watching “the king” perform in his own life story day in and day out is that whoever is letting him get so much plastic surgery should be fired.
Banat Superman
MBC Masr and MBC Masr 2
Ghada (Sherine Adel), Aya (Yousra al-Lozy) and Yasmine (Riham Haggag) are three women with special powers, the result of a one-night stand between superman (Ahmed Farrag) and a sex worker called Hendeya (Entesar). The latter placed her daughters in an orphanage 25 years ago out of fear for their safety.
After serving a 25-year prison sentence, Captain Qorany (Bayoumi Fouad), Hendeya's older brother and a pimp, locates his three nieces and kidnaps them, hoping to reopen his cabaret and start a new prostitution network. Meanwhile, the girls are trying to find out the reason for their powers and the identity of their father.
Do we recommend it for the rest of Ramadan?
Yes. The rhythm is fast, funny and winning. Fouad's familiar sense of humor and the quirkiness of the storyline make this a fun series to watch while breaking your fast.
Al-Mizan (The Scales)
ONtv Plus, Al-Hayat 2, CBC Drama, Sada al-Balad
"Al-Mizan" is one of those shows that gives us good guys and bad guys, though occasionally we aren’t sure who is who, and at the center of it all is Noha, a young, intelligent, principled lawyer played by Ghada Adel.
She takes on a case in which one of Egypt’s leading businessmen is accused of killing his wife. From the start it's clear that there's something fishy about the incident, as all of his previous associates, allies and friends queue up to throw him under the bus.
Also starring Sherene Reda and Mohamed Farrag, "Al-Mizan" is plot-driven, fast-paced, has some surprising turns and is a relatively gripping watch. It is also a fantasy. It shows an Egypt where everything is corrupt except the courts and judiciary, where if you're intelligent and driven enough you may be able to defeat the forces that be.
Do we recommend it for the rest of Ramadan?
Yes, especially if watching an intelligent young woman giving pompous older men a dressing-down in court is up your street.
تقارير ذات صلة
‘Where are those places?’ Ramadan TV beyond reality and representation
Mohamed Shawky Hassan analyzes the complexities of representation and reality in Egypt's Ramadan TV.
Notes on mental health after watching Soqoot Horr
Naira Antoun takes the occasion of the Ramadan series "Soqoot Horr" (Free Fall to reflect on the portrayal and understanding of mental health.
Afrah al-Qobba: A spectacle of disappointment
By sexing up a Naguib Mahfouz novel, the makers of this Ramadan's "Afrah al-Qobba" distort its evocative appeal.
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